Very, very sick from Ivermectin

As some of you know, Tybalt had an outbreak of demodex (common skin disease caused by mites). After 3 days of being on Ivermectin, I noticed Tybalt was seriously lethargic and when he was up, walked about as if he was drunk. He couldn't walk in a straight line, he would take a couple steps, then stumble down and he kept running into things that were clearly in front of him. His back legs just seem to give out on him. His pupils were also fully dilated. His heart was racing, even when he was at rest. And he was drooling everywhere. His appetite was still the same and he was still drinking water normally and nothing unusual was going on with his bathroom trips other then his stools were a bit soft, but that's to be expected on ivermectin. But his stumbling, lethargy, lack of muscle control and dilated pupils happened over a period of just a few hours and even though he was still eating and such, I got really worried. You could tell he didn't feel good or feel like himself.

After looking up side effects of Ivermectin online, I got hold of the vet ASAP. He told me to stop the Ivermectin and that it was a good thing I noticed the change in his behavior and made the call. A quick trip to the vet to be checked out and a very big watery evacuation of his bowels later (sorry to be graphic!), he is back to normal. Ivermectin interferes with parasites neural functions and very, very rarely, in some dogs will a large enough dosage cross over to affect the dogs neural functions. This is what happened with Tybalt. Thankfully, Ivermectin does not metabolise in the body long and the bulk, over 90% of it, is not absorbed and gets excreted through feces.

His skin scrapings still show he has a few active mites, so after a few days rest from the medicine, he is back on for the rest of the course, but this time his dosage has been cut in half. If he doesn't tolerate this course, then I guess we have to look at other options such as seeing if his body builds up the needed immunity to fight them off like other pups. The vet is still sure it's just stress from Tybalt being in a new home and changing puppy hormones that's suppressed his control over the mites, but to be on the safe side we should treat it in case it spreads or gets worse.

Most dogs can tolerate Ivermectin just fine (except for the collie and certain herding breeds who cannot, because they lack a certain gene). I don't want to alarm anyone if you have a dog on it or will have to in the future. But every dog tolerates medicines differently and it's handy to know the side effects of drugs and what to look for, even the smallest of changes. Tybalt had all the classic signs of not tolerating his original dosage which presented themselves clearly and in such a short matter of time one couldn't help but to notice them.

how worrying,lucky you new it could be that.hope alls well now.

Whew that must have been really scary -- well spotted and very fast action to get him in to the vet. Thanks for the information which I am sure will be useful to others. And here's hoping the lower dose works for Tybalt and he is feeling more comfortable very soon. :flwr:

I was wondering how your pup was doing. Last time I read that thread you didn't know what was wrong yet. Thanks for sharing ..can't help but learn and be a better armed dog owner with all the tips, info and tricks I learn here.

Tybalt is lucky to have you for his "boss" -p). So many medicines with awful side-effects. FDA has posted this re: Ivermectin

June 24, 2008
COMFORTIS® and ivermectin interaction Safety Warning Notification
Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is announcing that it has received reports of adverse reactions in dogs receiving the drug Comfortis® (spinosad) concurrently with high, extra-label doses of the drug ivermectin. The clinical signs of these adverse reactions are consistent with ivermectin toxicity.
Comfortis® (spinosad), manufactured by Elanco Animal Health, a division of Eli Lilly and Company, is a monthly oral, chewable tablet used for the prevention and treatment of flea infestations on dogs. Veterinarians who use high, extra-label doses of ivermectin to treat dogs with non-responsive demodectic mange and other conditions should be aware that some dogs have developed signs of ivermectin toxicity when ivermectin is used concurrently with Comfortis® (spinosad).
CVM and Elanco Animal Health are advising veterinarians that dogs receiving extra-label doses of ivermectin should not receive concurrent treatment with Comfortis® (spinosad).
CVM is working with Elanco Animal Health as they address this issue. Additional information regarding this safety warning can be obtained on the Elanco Animal Health website.

I was thinking,Ella has had nits twice now and i WILL NOT use any of the chemicals on her as i think they will give of side affects its the same sort of stuff i am sure.so i pick them out by hand and comb then i go back every 2 days to get the new borns,anyway the mums look at me in horror,but thay tell me that the stuff from the chemists isnt working any more and that the nits are getting used to it,but these chemicals are powerful and you dont know what it can do to the brain.So its the same for a dog surely.

Wow....good for you in your quick thinking and realizing something was wrong! So glad it's not something that will have long term effects on the little guy. Please let us know how he's doing, I'll be thinking about you!

frecklesmom said:

Tybalt is lucky to have you for his "boss" -p). So many medicines with awful side-effects. FDA has posted this re: Ivermectin

June 24, 2008
COMFORTIS® and ivermectin interaction Safety Warning Notification
Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is announcing that it has received reports of adverse reactions in dogs receiving the drug Comfortis® (spinosad) concurrently with high, extra-label doses of the drug ivermectin. The clinical signs of these adverse reactions are consistent with ivermectin toxicity.
Comfortis® (spinosad), manufactured by Elanco Animal Health, a division of Eli Lilly and Company, is a monthly oral, chewable tablet used for the prevention and treatment of flea infestations on dogs. Veterinarians who use high, extra-label doses of ivermectin to treat dogs with non-responsive demodectic mange and other conditions should be aware that some dogs have developed signs of ivermectin toxicity when ivermectin is used concurrently with Comfortis® (spinosad).
CVM and Elanco Animal Health are advising veterinarians that dogs receiving extra-label doses of ivermectin should not receive concurrent treatment with Comfortis® (spinosad).
CVM is working with Elanco Animal Health as they address this issue. Additional information regarding this safety warning can be obtained on the Elanco Animal Health website.

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Tybalt isn't on the other medicine listed in this warning, but it is true that a big dosage of Ivermectin has to be used to get rid of demodex. And in cases like Tybalts, that dosage sometimes needs to be modified. I'm just glad the signs of his over dosage were very outward and noticable. I'm not so sure I would've noticed any smaller changes in a puppy and that's the scary thing.

Tybalt is just fine. He is snoozing on the couch with the cat. He had another big poo last night but this one wasn't as watery (gosh! Sorry to gross you all out like this) and his morning poo was perfect. Seems like it's all out of his system now.

Now if I can only stop him from racing through the house with certain undergarments of mine (bras, he seems to like my black lace ones the best) and dropping them at the feet of guests...

nicoles94 said:

Now if I can only stop him from racing through the house with certain undergarments of mine (bras, he seems to like my black lace ones the best) and dropping them at the feet of guests...

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Ha Ha..glad he is feeling better now.

Frecklesmom, thanks for that helpful additional info. Definitely something to make sure our vets know about.

So glad Tybalt is feeling better!! I think this is why it's so important to be aware of any changes in your dog when giving a medicine they've not had before. Some dogs will have reactions. Jake can't take Tramadol....he gets really weirded out by it. Shelby is fine with it.

Sorry to hear you had such a scare - well done on picking up on things so quickly, and getting him to the vet - I'm sure that has helped him recover so quickly.

You have exactly the right attitude - sadly there are always side effects with medications, and sometimes it just does'nt suit the dog - something to be aware of. Your posts are really helpful and may help others, so it's much appreciated that you have shared this informaion.

Glad to hear that the wee man is doing ok now, and I hope that you manage to get the mites cured too.

I am glad that Tybalt is feeling better. It is good that you acted quickly when he had such an adverse reaction to the Ivermectin. We use it in an injectable form in treating mange on raccoons and it is very effective, and so far no visible side effects have been noted there.

Does the vet know how he picked up the mites and how you can prevent further infestations?

hbmama said:

I am glad that Tybalt is feeling better. It is good that you acted quickly when he had such an adverse reaction to the Ivermectin. We use it in an injectable form in treating mange on raccoons and it is very effective, and so far no visible side effects have been noted there.

Does the vet know how he picked up the mites and how you can prevent further infestations?

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Most every dog gets this mite (demodex mite) from their mother during the early days of puppyhood. It is not communicable and most puppies are able to suppress the mites with their immune systems and never see a flare up. In fact, a lot of people have similar mites on them, especially in places such as the eyelashes Because Tybalt is both in a new home and going through some puppy changes with hormones, the stress from this probably caused this onset, but once it's gotten rid off, should not make a return.

It's not very worrisome in puppies, but in adult dogs it can become a very serious problem. Some vets prefer to ride out the mite outbreak without medicines, but mine doesn't. Secondary infections from constant scratching and biting can lead to a host of other things which can turn serious for a dog quickly.

I can see that the Ivermectin is helping, his skin is far less red and it appears his hair is growing back, but this mite has a 3 week life cycle, so he has to keep taking medicine for the full course of the infestation.

Goodness how frightening but good on you for your keen observation & quick action. You will have to check out the ingredients on some other products now too as I think HeartGuard has Ivermectin in it.

:updte:

Ok, Tybalts dosage has been cut in half now for three days and he seems to be doing much, much, much better at this dosage. 1/10cc every day instead of 2/10cc. I hope he can continue to keep this up because the lapse the three days off Ivermectin caused it to flare back up and it's spread a bit up his neck.

Just six more weeks on this. The life cycle of a mite is around 21 days, but since he has been off and the mites spread a bit, we want to make sure this cycle is gone and any other cycle that may have spawned from it. So three weeks for the first round and then another three to make sure if any spawned, we kill those off too.

Keep your :xfngr: crossed we get these nasty little things wiped out!

Hi, I know this thread is dated now, but I wanted to add that my (ex) mother in law had a beautiful puppy about 10 years ago who had developed the puppy mange and was given ivermectin for it. The pup was about 16 weeks old and was not one of the collie breeds that are sensitive to ivermectin, however, the puppy was dead in 3 days from the meds. The lethargy is a definite bad sign, and scarily, there is no antidote for it except to induce vomiting if you accidentally overdose and catch it before it absorbs.\

BTW, I hope Tybalt is much better now!